# Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1539-ordinance-of-villers-cotterets
Location: Villers-Cotterêts
Categories: main-event

Royal ordinances required French in legal and administrative records and strengthened civil registration practices. Within the broader Renaissance & Wars of Religion period, Renaissance monarchy brought Italian wars, humanist culture and overseas exploration. The Reformation then fractured the kingdom, producing decades of civil war between Catholic and Protestant factions. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Francis I (King of France). Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts mattered because it changed the legal or constitutional framework within which French institutions and citizens operated. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts mattered because it changed the legal or constitutional framework within which French institutions and citizens operated.

Ruler at the time: [Francis I](https://history-france.com/rulers/francis-i)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Ordinance+of+Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Ordinance+of+Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of French history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_French_history)